Charlie Boo at 15 Months!

Charlie keeps getting older.  He is our fourth, and I have yet to find a way to slow time with them.  I love every stage and also get excited for the next.  I cannot believe he is 15 months already!  Thankfully he is healthy and is tiny.  I only say the last adjective as a positive because it helps me cope with him getting older and doing more...because he still looks like a tiny baby (think 9-12 mo), sometimes.

Doctor Check-Up
Today I took him to the doctor for his well-check.  The recap of it goes like this:  At 15 months he is 18 lbs, 13 oz (-3%).  He is gaining though which is good.  He's gained 13 oz in 3 months.  He is 29" which is the 15% and his head is 20%.  Charlie got two shots, one in each leg, and he barely cried. He didn't flinch either. I was impressed. The doctor is impressed with his play (described below), as it is advanced, however he says if his speech is delayed much longer, he will be concerned about that.  I'm not worried, as Delaney was very quiet and didn't talk until late.  However, he's not saying anything.  He barely babbles.  The doctor wanted to test his hearing (to rule that out), but Charlie was getting a bit squirmy and didn't cooperate well.  If he's still super quiet in 3 more months, a full hearing test will be done and possibly speech.  Again, I'm not that concerned.  I do think his hearing is fine.  If you say his name, he turns toward you.  He follows simple directions like "Charlie where is your milk?" or "Go lay down" or "Bring your blankie to Daddy." 

Charlie cannot keep his 12 mo pants up if wearing a disposable diaper.

Eating
He is a pretty good eater, but he also loves to shove food on the side of him and to feed Riggs.  He loves fruit, that's his favorite, I think. 

Talking
The only time I hear him is if he's crying or laughing.  He rarely makes any noises and doesn't say any words yet. 

Charlie's Favorite Thing
He loves, loves, LOVES Riggs.  He climbs over him all the time while Riggs is laying down or sleeping.  He is so cute as sometimes he will see Riggs laying down, and he will go close to him, turn around, back up and slowly slide down Riggs to snuggle with him.  Riggs is great with Charlie using him as a jungle gym.  He tries to feed him several times a day and he also loves to play in Riggs' water bowl (I'm thinking of getting him a water table for this summer for Easter).

SleepingCharlie sleeps well.  Usually from anytime after 7 until after 6am.  Every so often he'll fuss around 10 or 11, but he goes right back to sleep.  He still has his paci (maybe that's why he's so quiet?  Or is it because he has 3 older sisters???).  He also loves his little blankies.

Play

He likes to run around, and especially to tease Rowena and get her to chase him. He'll pick up a toy and make sure Rowe is watching him and then he runs and laughs.  If she doesn't chase him, he'll go near her to bug her just enough.  Usually she just gets annoyed with him and says "No, Charlie-boo-boo," but sometimes she'll chase him and they'll both just laugh.  He loves cords.  He does.  He loves to pull them out of sockets in the wall, he loves to drap them around his neck like a scarf or a guy with a towel around his neck (think 1987).  He is good at teasing, and laughs about it.  As stated above, he loves playing with Riggs, especially with his food and water.  He likes to empty out all of our tupperware, and he's enjoying Rowe's new play food.  He likes to walk around with crayons, markers, and pencils.  He also loves remotes...as do most kids.  He loves to bend over and put his weight onto his head and look between his legs.  This always cracks me up.  (I can't believe with how often he does it that I can't find a picture of him doing it).  He teases me with his paci--he'll put it in my mouth and take it out right away and laugh.  Often, I'll find him just laying down, just about anywhere: the stairs, his chair, the floor.

I love this picture of Charlie...it cracks me up,
like he got caught climbing on toys.

Charlie modelling his summer clothes

He's now able to climb onto this toy and spin
all by himself


 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 



With a remote



 

 
 

 

Young Love...Katie Has A Crush

Katie
Katie has a crush on a boy in her class.  His name is Mathew and he happens to also be the son of Delaney's current teacher.  I love some of the conversations I've heard between Delaney and Katie; where Delaney tells Katie if she doesn't like something Matthew is doing, she'll tell Ms. P.  I had to interject on that; letting them both know that if Katie doesn't like something a kid in her class is doing, she needs to tell her teacher and her teacher will handle it or talk to that child's mom.  I, of course, didn't heed my own advice, but I didn't start the conversation either.  But, let me back up.

Katie tells us she likes this boy.  A few weeks (or maybe it was days), I hear that conversation between Delaney and Katie and also find out that Matthew has kissed her a few times.  According to Katie, it was once on the hand and once on the cheek.  I did talk about appropriateness of our behaviors, such as Mom and Dad won't kiss in school and that they should focus on learning and being friends.  But, I also let her know that if she wants (any of) her friends over to play, that is okay.  So, Katie proceeds to tell me she wants a playdate with Matthew so she can "kiss him romantically" (which means a longer kiss on the mouth--which is how her and Delaney both perceive passionate kisses from movies and T.V.).   Then I expand my discussion of appropriate behavior in that she ought to focus on being friends with Matthew as 6 1/2 is a bit young for that kind of kissing.

His Mom
Then, a couple months later, there is an open house at the school.  We first went to Delaney's classroom (as she needed to leave soon for ballet) and Ms. P says to me, "So, my son came home from school a while ago with his first love letter."  I'm sure she is giving me this personal information because it has to do with me.  Sure enough..."It says: 'Dear Matthew, I love you.  Love, Katie H.'  And it is now on our fridge."  Her and I talk about how cute we both think it is that they have a crush and how neither of us are trying to tell them they can't date or that sort of thing.  It was after she opened up first, that I allowed Katie's kissing story as well as Delaney's desire to tattle on him, to Mr. P.

The Boy
So, when I went to Katie's Valentine Party a few weeks later, a little boy calls me over to his desk and the following conversation happens:
Boy: "Does Katie ever talk about a Matt or Matthew at home?"
Me: "Yeah, I think she has mentioned a Matthew before."
Boy: "That's me."
Me: "Oh, nice to meet you, Matthew."
Boy: "Katie always tells me she loves me and stuff."
Me: "Does that bother you?"
Boy: "Yes"
Me: "okay, would you like me to talk with her and tell her to stop?"
Boy: "Yes"

So, I take this information and plan to talk to Katie about easing up on her focus on Matthew at school.  About an hour later, Matthew asks me "Have you talked to her yet?" and I tell him that I would at home.  Then he hip-checks Katie, turns and smiles at her and walks away.  Hmmm...I don't know if I really have to talk to Katie.  I think this little boy (who is super adorable by the way, and funny too) would miss Katie's attention.  Then, as we're leaving the party, and I'm taking pictures of Katie with various friends, Matthew stands around like he's waiting.  So, I ask him if he would like to take a picture with Katie, to which he drops all of his stuff and picks up Katie and truly swings her around.  THen he sets her down and smiles for the camera. 

In the midst of the spin (I think the beginning)



Matthew and Katie (I love how his arm is around her and that the coordinate so well)

 I had to pick up Delaney from her class, so (of course) I couldn't help but show the picture to her teacher/Matthew's mom.  She asked for me to email it to her (so I did, along with the story of the party above) and then as we left, Matthew held the door for us and said "I can't wait to come over and spend the night."

Poor Rowe!

Two days in a row, and will be three more days, our plans have been cancelled or postponed.Our almost Birthday girl is sick. No vomitting, but she's had a fever of temps between 100.3-102.7 for four straight days now.  We can't even get it under 100 with medicine every 4 hours.  She's also on nebulizer treatments 3-4 times a day for her constant cough.  Poor girl gets bouts of energy now and then...when the meds are working.  For about an hour, maybe two, then she crashes.  The doctor said she's okay; no infections.  So, I guess it must be a virus.  However, the fever isn't going away and the doc said it would've by now.  Going to call in the morning, but here are some cute pictures of our sickie.

 

So, no aquarium or zoo yesterday.  No playdate today.  No lapsit tomorrow (which is when they would sing Happy Birthday to her).  No American Girl on Friday.  No Nana-Rowe Birthday Hotel Weekend.

 

Charlie's Not So Cute ALL the Time

So, after dinner tonight, Peter cleaned out Charlie's hair and combed it to the side and took off his cute spiderman shirt, so he was left looking like a creepy, dirty man who stays in seedy motels.

So, we now know what Charlie will be for Halloween next year...Steve Buscemi. CREEPY!!!

Wonderful Weekend!

The Hendersons have had a WONDERFUL weekend!

Friday
On Friday the girls went to school and Rowe and Charlie had a fun playdate at Dylan's house with their friends Beth, Isa, Patrick, and Kate.  Then, Friday night I took all four kids to my parents for the night, went home, got dressed, did my hair, watched 2 hours of TV, did the dishes, folded laundry, and cleaned the house.  Once Peter got home, we went on a date.  We celebrated the 17th anniversary of our very first date, which is a wonderfully funny story.

Saturday
My friend, Linda and I are both the Cookie Moms for our girls' Daisy troop (Katie's troop).  So, Peter, Linda and I went to pick up the troop's cookies.  Then we sorted them and chatted for a while.



The cookies nicely organized before sorting by girl



Cookies sorted by Daisy...ready for pick-up





 

We picked up the kids and came home.  We wanted to go to the pet store because they have some bearded dragons and Delaney wants to get one for a pet this year.  However, Charlie and Rowe BOTH napped, so I stayed home while Peter took the older girls to the pet store and to a toy store to get Rowena her birthday gifts. 



Delaney is already planning her environment for her dragon.  She wants a tree just like this one.



When they got home, Peter took his car to get fixed: new brakes, rotors, oil, and tires.  Thankfully we were able to get that bill on a 12 month interest free plan!  And, thankfully he got his car fixed since he does SO much driving with his new job!

The kids played outside; it was so sunny and beautiful out.

Charlie trying to figure out the sidewalk chalk 

Spencer was cracking me up!  He was skipping and bobbing his head. 
Glad I also got this on video.

 

 

Then, we had a very early dinner (due to skipping lunch) around 4:30 or so, and started a fun movie marathon.  We put in The NeverEnding Story during dinner, and then after baths and showers we started Willie Wonka and the Chocolate Factory.  

Watching The NeverEnding Story



Our clean little guy







Then, after Charlie went to bed, we had a family movie night.  We watched and loved Kung Fu Panda 2 while enjoying popcorn, apples, string cheese, craisins, kool aid, and doritos.  Rowena made it through most of the movie before she fell asleep.

Furniture rearranged, food distrubuted, blankets on...Just press play!



Sunday

Today isn't over yet, but we have some fun things going on.  Linda and her family is coming over for the four hour window we gave the Girl Scout Troop to come over to pick up cookies.  The kids can all play, Peter is going to grill out, and Linda and I will be in charge of distrubuting cookies.  I also plan to take Delaney and Kate to a few (local) homes to deliver cookies.  The girls sold over 325 combined, and that's a lot to deliver.  Of course, we're shipping 129 boxes to California.

We might also go to the park, depending on the weather, after 2pm when cookie pick-up is over.

I cannot tell you how WONDERFUL it is having Peter home on the weekends!  Helping with the kids, running more errands, getting more accomplished, and, my favorite, more FAMILY time together!  Next weekend will be great as well.  On Friday, Grammie and I are going to American Girl Store with Rowena for her 3rd birthday.  And Saturday, after I work, we're going to Iowa to meet Nana at a hotel to swim and celebrate both Rowe and Nana's birthdays!

Save Our House

The girls know that our finances are beyond tight and that family is helping us. They also overheard a conversation between Peter and I that we are looking for jobs out of the state. After they both cried for several minutes, we tried to calm them down, stating that we're both looking for jobs and if we can't find something we love that pays well in Illinois, we need to look elsewhere. They continued to cry, talking about how much they didn't want to move, leave their friends, how they don't want to leave their school and current teacher, and how they both wanted to know who they would have next year for a teacher at Grand Prairie.


One Saturday after work I went to pick up the kids from Grammie and Poppy's.  The girls had been playing with my old Fashion Plates (these things are AWESOME!).  Anyway, they were coloring and cutting them out, and Grammie was putting on prices (which the girls dictated to her).  When I asked about their activity, they told me that they are "saving our house." 

Katie proceeded explain further:
"Mom, we're going to sell our fashions so we can save the house.  Delaney and I will pay for it so we don't have to move."
 
It took every ounce of self-control to not cry.  I was so very proud of them; their creativity and thoughtfulness was wonderful and overwhelmingly sweet.  When we got home, the girls diligently hung their fashions in the window and told me if anyone came to the door to buy one, to let them know and they will "take care of everything."

Dance Costumes!

Miss Emily brought out the book to reveal this year's dance costumes.  The theme this year is "Gone Country" and all three of our girls will be performing ballet.  Not sure the songs yet, but when I do, I will update this post.

Rowena will look adorable in this:

And Katie will be a beauty in all white this year (I'm a little sad that she has graduated away from the baby/little girl outfits into these glamourous ballet costumes):

Delaney will look lovely in this: